


A perfect surprise

by DracoIgnis



Category: Game of Thrones (TV)
Genre: Adorable dorks, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, F/M, Fluff and Humor, Grocery Shopping, Humor, Illustrated, Jonerys, Part time workers, Students, alternative universe
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-09-24
Updated: 2019-09-24
Packaged: 2020-10-27 15:57:27
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,517
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20763017
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DracoIgnis/pseuds/DracoIgnis
Summary: Jon takes a liking to the grocery store clerk Daenerys, and it seems she likes him too. As they start exchanging surprises, question becomes: what will the next one be? A lighthearted modern AU short story with some original artwork.





	A perfect surprise

..

**Saturday**

Placing his basket on the counter, Jon avoided eye-contact with the cashier as he mumbled: “Can I pay for a bag as well, please?” He didn’t need to look into her eyes to know what she thought; that he was another bachelor loser with no idea of how to boil an egg.

As always, Jon’s basket was full of ready meals, cans of beer, two bags of crisps, and the occasional, lonely banana which he was sure to forget to eat. It wasn’t that he didn’t _want_ to cook, not even that he didn’t know how. But he lacked time and, more importantly, he lacked _energy_. Even now, Saturday morning, he felt himself blinking twice as much to keep his eyes open as the cashier started scanning his items and gingerly placing them in a plastic bag.

_It’s the price you pay for pursuing your dream, _he told himself. After all, he could’ve found a university closer to Winterfell and stayed with his step-mother. Truly, they didn’t get along, but she would never let him _starve_. Just the thought of her fat-roasted potatoes and sizzling pork loins made his mouth water, and he reminded himself: _This is what you wanted. Independence._

If only independence didn’t have to taste of pasta cooked in ketchup.

“Is that all?” the cashier asked as she handed him the bag.

“Uhmm…” Jon’s gaze ran across the back wall where the packs of cigarettes were displayed. Then, his eyes slowly slipped to the face of the cashier. “-mmh…” She was young, he noted, probably mid-twenties like himself. Her hair was surprisingly silver, her eyes bright. She was watching him patiently, even as his gaze slipped down her apron to her name tag. _Daenerys_. “-mhmm…”

“Sorry, _mhmmm_ is not a language I speak,” she said.

Jon flushed and quickly took the bag from her. “Sorry,” he muttered, “just, well, _spacing_ _out_ I guess.”

“You look tired. Rough night?” she asked and leaned onto the counter.

“Mhmm,” he replied before shaking his head. “Sorry, here I go again,” he laughed.

She smiled too. “It’s okay. I know the feeling.”

“Can I have a pack of Nightshaders?” he asked, gesturing toward a pack of smokes.

Daenerys turned to the shelf and cocked her head to the side. “Which would you like?” she asked, pulling down a few as she looked between the warnings on them. “_Could cause cancer?,_ or _Can harm others?_, maybe _Smoking causes impotence_?” She glanced at him with her face perfectly neutral, and Jon felt himself blush as he thought:

_She knows exactly what she’s doing._ “Whichever,” he said, though grateful when the last mentioned went back on the shelf. “Do people really care about that kind of stuff?”

“You’d be surprised,” Daenerys said and scanned the pack. “Alright, cash or card?”

Jon tapped his card to the reader. “You’re not going to ID me?” he asked.

“You look old enough,” she said, tapping away on her own screen.

“Old enough for what?” Jon retorted, this time causing her cheeks to redden.

She smiled slightly as she handed him his receipt. “Well played,” she said. “Enjoy your weekend, sir.”

**Wednesday**

Jon placed his basket down before he noted who the cashier was. As he glanced into her bright eyes, he smiled surprised: “Daenerys!”

Daenerys quirked her eyebrows and smiled as well, replying: “Hipster boy!”

Jon huffed. “Really, I look hipster to you?”

“Could be the manbun,” she pondered, cocking her head to the side as if contemplating what stood before her, “or that thrift shop bargain.” She pointed at his thick-knitted jumper, complete with the face of a white direwolf on front.

Jon pulled at the fabric, causing the wolf’s face to twist. “Got a problem with second hand?”

“No, on the contrary - I love it. Good for the environment.”

_Good for my bank account,_ Jon thought, but he merely nodded. He liked the image she projected of him better; a guy conscious of his surroundings. _Does that mean I can’t buy another pack of Nightshaders?_ he wondered as she started scanning his items.

Into the plastic bag went his usual shop - frozen pizzas, a microwaveable lasagne, two cans of beer, and a box of Kinder Eggs. She slightly hesitated at the box, and he shrugged: “I just love surprises.”

“So do I,” Daenerys said, “that’s why I work at such an exciting place.” She gestured about and Jon caught himself looking around.

The corner shop was small and mostly consisted of sweets, frozen meals, and booze. It wasn’t a place anyone would go out of their way to shop at, but it suited the neighbourhood of students and minimum wage workers just fine.

“Mhmm, I see what you’re getting at,” he replied.

“It’s alright, really,” Daenerys said as she packed the box on top of his other groceries. “It pays the bills, and it gives me a break from studying.”

“Oh, you’re at uni?” Jon said and glanced back at her.

Daenerys nodded. “Studying medicine.”

“You must be smart.”

“Sure am,” she nodded unashamed.

Jon couldn’t help but smile at her confidence. “I’m studying too,” he explained, “finance.”

“Ooh,” Daenerys pursed her lips. “Looks like someone wants to be a _bankerwanker_.”

“I… don’t even know what that means.”

“You’re seeing yourself moving abroad, joining the guys in Qarth?” Daenerys cocked her head to the side and sighed. “Looks like you’re not a hipster after all. Shame, I’m normally good at reading people.”

As it dawned on him what she meant, Jon couldn’t help but laugh. “Sure, if I was all about cash, I’d be on my way to Qarth. But I am actually volunteering at a local charity, and they need more professionals to be able to run,” he explained as he tapped his card to the reader. “It’s hard work, and it doesn’t pay much, but I feel _damn_ _good_ when I go to bed at night.”

“I’ll admit it - I’m impressed,” Daenerys said as she handed him his groceries. “Guess this place does surprise me once in a while.”

“Here’s another surprise,” Jon said as he reached into his bag and broke open the box of Kinder Eggs. He handed her one and winked: “Plenty more where that came from.”

**Sunday**

Jon noted the little plastic plane perched atop the card reader as he approached the counter.

Daenerys pointed to it. “Courtesy of you,” she said. “The egg wasn’t too shabby either.”

“I remember when I was little, they used to all contain proper figures. Nowadays it’s all just plastic crap, really,” Jon said, leaning in to look at the figure. It was made up from two pieces of plastic and a sticker of a face. The sticker had been put on upside down.

“Wow, way to make me excited about my surprise,” Daenerys stuck her tongue out at him.

Jon smiled. “Sorry.” He placed his basket on the counter, and she started scanning through his stuff; packs of noodles, two ready-made burgers, one can of beer, and three packs of crisps.

“Do you ever cook?” Daenerys asked.

Jon shrugged. “I just don’t have the time. Volunteering and all.”

“Yeah, sorry about that,” she said, her voice slightly ashamed, “I shouldn’t have assumed.”

“It’s alright. Most people on my course really are, ah, what did you call it?”

“Bankerwankers.”

“Right, _that_,” Jon nodded. “I’m not all good. I do sometimes just think to myself, man, what if I just took a _normal_ job? What a fat payslip I could have in a few years time.”

“But it’s soulless,” Daenerys nodded. “I know what you mean. I’m still sorry.”

“Sorry enough to hand me a pack of Nightshades without the impotence-line?” Jon asked.

Daenerys smiled and grabbed him one. “So, what kind of stuff do you volunteer with?”

“Animals,” Jon said. “I’ve got a direwolf myself, so it’s close to my heart.”

“You’ve got a _wolf_?” Daenerys looked at him incredulous, and Jon nodded excited as he pulled out his phone. He showed her his screensaver of Ghost. “Wow, that’s a big boy.”

“Sure is.”

“These are mine,” Daenerys said and pulled out her own phone to show Jon. A picture of three lizards stared back at him.

“Lizards?” Jon spoke surprised. “You don’t look like the type.”

“Ooh, look who’s making assumptions now,” she said and wrinkled her nose in a chuckle.

Jon shrugged. “Fair point,” he said and watched the display as the price for his shopping came up. He tapped his card with a sigh. “Man, I really have to start watching my shopping. I don’t get paid until Friday.”

“Got to stop being a big spender on unknown girls,” Daenerys said and nodded toward the plastic plane.

Jon laughed: “True! Can’t have people think I am some sort of sugar daddy.”

“Would that make me a sugar babe?” Daenerys pondered and twisted a lock around her finger. As usual, her face was perfectly neutral whilst Jon’s cheeks reddened.

_She is good. She is very good, _Jon thought and shyly picked up his bag of groceries. “Well, Daenerys, hope to see you around. I’ve come to enjoy these chats.”

“Me too,” she said. As he was exiting the shop, she shouted: “Look in your bag!”

Jon had just made it outside onto the street as he opened the bag and saw the yellow shell from a Kinder Egg inside. He popped it open and unrolled a message that read:

_Exchange me for a surprise next time you’re in._

**Thursday**

“Oh, I am so glad you’re back!”

Jon blinked in surprise; he’d hardly stepped into the corner shop before Daenerys popped out of the backroom and waved him to the counter. She was looking excited, he noted, her cheeks slightly pink. “Morning,” he greeted.

“Morning,” Daenerys replied, “have you got your egg?”

“My egg?” For a moment, Jon was confused, but then it dawned on him. “Oh, this?” He pushed his hand into the pocket of his jeans and pulled out the yellow plastic container.

Daenerys nodded eagerly. “That’s it! I’ve got the surprise-” she disappeared under the counter for a moment before returning with a plastic tub, “-here!” She placed it on the countertop and gave Jon a happy nod.

For a moment, neither of them spoke, just eyed the plastic box. Inside, Jon could make out the shape of what looked to be pieces of clay stuck in mud.

“Well?” Daenerys said. “What do you think?”

Jon scratched his neck as he pushed the box around, hoping to make more sense of the scene from a different angle. “Well,” he said, licking his lips. He looked between her face and the box, awaiting the point of the whole thing to become clear any second but, as nothing seemed to click, finally asked: “What is it meant to be?”

Daenerys’ expression stiffened. Her smile turned from joyous to hesitant. “What do you mean, what is it? That’s a shepherd’s pie.”

“_That_ is a _shepherd’s pie_?” Jon gawked.

Daenerys’ face started turning from hesitant to sour. Her cheeks reddened, and she furrowed her brows as she crossed her arms. “What about it?”

“Was it _dropped_?”

“No, it wasn’t _dropped_. I _made_ it!”

Jon was at a loss for words. He leaned down to look through the worn plastic at the supposed pie, but could not see anything that resembled the recipe described. “Daenerys, I’m sorry to say, but there is _no way_ that is a shepherd’s pie.”

“Okay, well, maybe it was my first time making it,” Daenerys spoke, “but I tried really hard, and what I had of it was really nice. I mean, it was definitely edible. I had three forkfuls. Three!” At her own words, her arms fell to her sides, and soon she sunk down to sit on the chair behind the counter with a groan. She rested her chin onto the tabletop and pouted up at him. “I tried to be nice. You eat all that readymade stuff, so I thought I’d get you something homemade.”

Jon sighed as he felt his heart hurt a little. _It’s wrong to make fun of her,_ he thought, watching her sad eyes as she pushed her own box around, the contents wobbling inside like pudding. _She really thought of me._

“Thank you,” he said and picked up the box. “Really, that was nice of you.”

“Don’t take it,” Daenerys grimaced. “You’ll get sick.”

“I won’t know until I try.”

“I tried. I didn’t make it to work the next day,” Daenerys warned him and gingerly took the box from his hands. “Truth be told, I thought you’d be in sooner. I cooked this Monday.”

Jon did a quick calculation in his head and then grimaced. “Yeah, okay, I think I will pass.”

“Tell you what, keep this,” she said and pushed the egg back to him, “and I’ll get you a better surprise next time.”

Jon picked up the egg and hesitated for a bit, watching Daenerys as she started pouring the pie into the bin. Her silver hair was pinned back, and he could see her bright eyes glimmering a little. _Is she that upset? _he wondered, feeling his chest clench again. He glanced back at the egg, then placed it onto the counter and pushed it back toward her.

“My turn,” he said. “I’ll bring the surprise.” He flashed her a smile and, before she had a chance to protest, left the shop for downtown.

**Tuesday**

Jon was shivering as he entered the corner shop. His jacket was soaked with rain, and he had to give the door a good yank to close it for the wind. It still whistled behind him as he made his way across the wet floor to the counter.

Daenerys peeked up from behind it, a book in her hand, but she quickly put it away as she saw it was him. “Hey,” she greeted. “Been a long time. I thought the pie scared you away.” It sounded like a joke, but Jon could tell there was a wave of honest relief going across her face.

He dragged off his beanie and ran his fingers through his messy locks. “Well, it took some time, but I finally found the perfect surprise,” he said and placed a bag on the counter.

It was a white plastic bag, the kind in which he got his noodles from the local Chinese, and Daenerys seemed to recognise the brand name as she hesitated with opening it. “Look, I know my cooking was bad-” she started, but Jon shook his head.

“Don’t worry, I didn’t bring you takeaway. I just used the bag. Look inside,” he urged.

Daenerys pulled the handles aside, peered in, and then started laughing. “Oh, my God.”

“I thought it was perfect,” Jon said, his smile deepening as Daenerys didn’t stop laughing.

She reached into the bag and pulled out a thickly knit jumper. It was similar to his own from the second hand shop, but instead of a direwolf, it had the twisted shape of a green lizard on front, complete with a santa hat on its head. Someone had pulled the white bobble off and sown in a giant bell. It jingled as Daenerys held it up to inspect it.

“Oh my _God_!” she repeated, tears running down her cheeks. “Oh my God, this is _so ugly_!”

“Hey, it’s a _nice_ surprise,” Jon corrected her, but he too started chuckling. “And very good for the environment.”

“This is not good for _anyone_!” Daenerys insisted. She turned the jumper and held it across her uniform as if to see what it would look like on. It was at least two sizes too big, the sleeves hanging down to her knees.

_But it is definitely the right choice, _Jon decided as he watched Daenerys wipe her wet cheeks with the back of her hand. “Try it on,” he said.

“I could get in trouble.”

“What, they’ll get you in trouble for that, but not for hiding a pie under the counter for a week?”

Daenerys rolled her eyes at him, but she did pull the jumper over her head. If possible, it looked even more ridiculous on than off. Jon hid a grin behind his hand as she trudged around the counter to show off her new look.

“What do you think? Kings Landing year 2020, here I come?” she said, doing a little catwalk in front of him.

Jon nodded and tried to place his face in thoughtful folds. “It’s definitely a look.”

“What kind of look?”

“_A_ look,” he said, not specifying.

Daenerys turned by the door and looked back at him; there she stood, an ugly lizard on her chest, sleeves hanging past her knees, and the wind and rain bashing in on the door behind her. And Jon thought to himself, _This girl is absolutely fantastic._

“You know,” she said, “I don’t even know your name yet.”

“It’s Jon,” Jon said, feeling rather embarrassed he never presented himself until now.

“Jon,” Daenerys repeated, crossing her arms. The sleeves flopped around her as she did so. “You’re a funny one, Jon. When you handed me that egg and said you had plenty more surprises to come, I didn’t believe you.”

“You do now?” he said, leaning against the counter.

Daenerys nodded. “I do now.”

Perhaps it was the weather, but something inside of Jon stirred. After a moment of silence, he forced himself to look away as he cleared his throat. “Well, I guess I’ll see if I can match this surprise next time.”

“No way, pal,” Daenerys shook her head. She started pulling the jumper over her head as she walked back toward him. “You surprised me this time. That means it’s my turn.” She managed to get the fabric halfway across her face, but it seemed to get stuck there in her hairdo. She wobbled a bit, pushing and pulling at the thick wool, before sighing. “Give me a hand, will you, Jon?”

“You’re a walking disaster,” he said as he reached out and pulled the jumper off of her.

Daenerys took in a needed breath and shook out her braids. “Well, aren’t you lucky this walking disaster is about to surprise you.”

**Friday**

Jon wasn’t sure what he expected, but it wasn’t this;

Outside the corner shop stood Daenerys. She was out of her normal uniform and instead wearing a long, white dress, black leather jacket, and high heels. The heels put her height about one inch above his own, and he found himself awkwardly looking up at her as he approached. “Wow, hello,” he said, forcing himself not to let his gaze wander. _But oh, how hard it is,_ he thought and took in a deep breath.

Daenerys turned and smiled at him. “Hello, Jon,” she said, seemingly liking the taste of his name. He liked it too - it sounded so different from her lips. “Wasn’t sure if you were going to show.”

“Wasn’t sure whether to expect another pie,” Jon said. “You look-” _amazing, sexy, beautiful_, “-tall.”

Daenerys laughed and lifted a foot to show her heel. “Sorry, I just love wearing these. Hope you don’t mind.”

Jon shook his head, feeling a bit red at his own words. _A real charmer you are. _“When you said to meet here, I thought I’d find you behind the counter.”

“A-ha, so you’re _already_ surprised!” Daenerys said with triumph.

Jon laughed and shrugged. “Suppose I am!”

Since their last meeting Tuesday, they’d exchanged numbers. Like teenagers, they had been texting day and night. As he woke up in the morning, Jon found himself reaching for his phone first thing to check his messages, and before he went to bed he would scroll through their texts, reminding himself of random gifs and memes she’d sent him.

But no matter how he prodded, she wouldn’t let him in on her surprise. Only that it would be ready Friday at five.

“Well, here’s your surprise!” Daenerys said and held out her arms.

Jon blinked and looked around them for a second. “Uh, where?”

Daenerys’ smile stiffened. “Here. Jon, it’s _me_. _I’m_ the surprise.”

Jon looked at her in awe. “Wait, _you_ are the surprise?”

“You don’t have to sound to shocked,” Daenerys said, looking rather self aware all of a sudden. She tugged at her leather jacket, but Jon quickly shook his head:

“Oh no, don’t misunderstand. I thought you were dressed for a night out, I didn’t realise-” His voice trailed off as he blushed, averting her gaze. “I didn’t think it would be a night out with _me_.”

“So, you’re not disappointed?” Daenerys asked shyly.

Jon reached out and grabbed her hand. “How could I be?”

“If you prefer, I can get the lizard jumper.”

“Very kind, but that sounds like a _different_ kind of date.”

“One where I cook?” Daenerys asked with a wry smile.

Jon smiled too. “A perfect disaster.”

“Or a perfect surprise.”

_No_, Jon thought as they headed down the street, hand in hand, their eyes locked, _because _this_ is a perfect surprise._ And he hoped many more were to come.

..

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you to DragonandDirewolf for the amazing art! I hope you all enjoyed. I just wanted to write an easy, funny story - hopefully it was achieved? Thanks to all of you who've been reading and leaving comments on my work, it means the world to me and has been a great encouragement in keeping me writing!


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